


Blood in Love||SK!Ze [RoyalChaos]

by Raakxhyr



Category: The Derp Crew (Youtube RPF)
Genre: General fiction, Literature, M/M, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:51:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raakxhyr/pseuds/Raakxhyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, it was a prompt given to me by a follower of mine on Tumblr where Ze is a serial killer (blame ToS she said) and Chilled just happens to be the next target who actually enjoys the story of a serial killer...so yeah</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a new AU one of my followers requested that I'm actually willing to write about ^-^        
> 
>  
> 
> [Share it on Tumblr!](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://raakxhyr.tumblr.com/post/143765296927/blood-in-love-serial-killerze-au-chapter-one)

_requested AU which will be in multiple chapters_  
\-----  


_First it was one body._

_Then it was four._

_Then ten._

_San Francisco wasn’t the friendliest town, yes; however, it did attract large crowds of people, including tourists._

_And after a month of absence, you had found your new target._

 ---------------------------------

Anthony was walking down the streets of San Francisco with GPS on his phone in hand, glasses reflecting the sunlight off though they didn’t help that much. It was a warm day, middle of July, and he thought he’d come visit some friends. 

 

The Italian sighed, running his fingers through his dark brown hair, turning his head to look on either side of the road before crossing the street with all the other people walking around him. He saw someone looking directly at him and turned to the crosswalk before quickly looking back in confusion, seeing no one where he had previously looked. Jumping when a car honked at him, he saw that he only had a few seconds left to cross and ran to the sidewalk, feeling more conscious about the crowd around him now as he made his way down the street.

 

“Might as well get a smoothie,” he mumbled, disliking this being lost in San Francisco. It wasn’t as big as New York but New York was easier to navigate. “Let’s see,” he said in a hum, eyeing the menu curiously and picking out a strawberry mango smoothie, of course saying yes for whipped cream on top. He stood there, hair on the back of his neck standing suddenly as he looked around, warily scanning the people around him and shrinking in a nearby chair, diverting his attention to his phone. 

 

“Anthony; one order of a strawberry mango smoothie is ready,” the cashier called, Anthony jumping to his feet to grab it and accidentally running into someone else. 

 

“Oh shit, sorry,” he quickly apologized, looking at the person in front of him who was holding a chocolate smoothie. Well…the person _was_ holding a smoothie. “God, here, let me help you with that.”

“Anthony?” a familiar voice asked and the Italian lifted his head with a bright smile to see his friend Max who he had planned on visiting.

“Oh, hey! Yeah, hold on, let me help you.” He grabbed a few tissues and handed them to Max before grabbing the lid on his smoothie cup to put back on and pat his arm. “I got lost looking for your place and decided to grab something.”

“That’s fine. I came out here because you took so god damn long and I wanted something cold. I’ll bring you back to my place.”

“Cool, thanks,” Anthony said with a smile as he grabbed his fruit smoothie and followed his friend out.

 

“By the way, I don’t know if you’ve heard or if anyone’s told you yet, but you kind of chose a bad time to come visit,” Max said with a chuckle, bringing Anthony to his car and getting into the driver’s side.

“What? Shit, am I interrupting anything,” the Italian quickly asked, ready to bolt.

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just you kind of got caught up in the wrong time.”

“Wrong time?”

“Yeah…see there’s this serial killer here in San Francisco that got some light a while back and…he was absent for a month, until now.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know when you arrived? Like two days ago?”

“Uh, yeah, why?” Anthony studied his friend’s face while they drove down the road. “You’re kidding, right? There can’t be a serial killer in San Francisco. Come on. You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not,” Max said, this time sternly and Anthony quieted, waiting for him to continue. Max sighed and shook his head. “Alright, look, Anthony, there were markings that showed up a few hours afterwards. And I’m not saying it’s a coincidence but that guy or girl was absent for a whole month until you showed up and I’d be watching my back if I were you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Well, okay…but what were the markings?”

“Red- not sure if it was blood or paint- symbols of their usual Viking helmet and fire that looks like a cape.. And I mean painted fire, like, around the helmet, which makes it look like a cape.”

“What is this guy? Some random person who probably calls himself the Viking or something,” Anthony said, trying to force out a laugh.

“You’re actually close.” Max parked the car and looked at Anthony with a pursed smile.

 

“He calls himself The Royal Viking.”

  ---------------------------------

_Your target, he got away._

_How could you let him go?_

_Never mind that, it’s getting late. You should be heading home. Just a few more days and then maybe you can get a blade closer._

_Time for His Majesty to rest and get ready for a wild night._


	2. RaakxhyrShapeshifter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Share it on Tumblr!](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://raakxhyr.tumblr.com/post/145173579897/blood-in-love-skze-ch-2)   
>  [Previous Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Serial-Killer-Ze-Chapter-One-606692817?q=gallery%3ARaakxhyrShapeshifter%2F58026126&qo=4)   
>  [Next Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Sk-Ze-Ch-3-617006010?ga_submit_new=10%253A1466620951)

_You decide to settle your taste for the attractive Italian by going on a small shopping spree. Well, really, just to make sure you’re restocked on supplies…gags, blind folds,_ axes and long blades.

 

_You giggle at that thought, quietly of course, and proceed to look around yourself._

_OH! Oh wait, no that’s not him. It’s just a look-a-like._

_But still…_

_…_

_…alright._

_You’ve chosen to test out your little new toys once you’ve bought them and play with the familiar stranger._ There can only be one.

 

\---

 

“So uh, this Royal Viking or whatever,” Anthony started, looking at his friend across the table. They were playing a game of cards- Go Fish, in particular- after having a pizza filled lunch. “He’s some sorta savage crook of San Francisco?”

“Yep,” the Mexican answered, drawing a card and revealing his now empty hand with a smile, taking all the cards to reshuffle. “Great timing on your part, don’t you think?”

“Wonderful,” Anthony groaned. “Absolutely wonderful. Say, I’m curious about him, though. It is a guy, right?”

Max shrugged.

“Well, I’m just going to assume it’s a guy. So, what murders have there been?”

“You really are curious,” Max said with a chuckle. “Here, I’ll show you.”

 

The two followed up from the table and went to his computer to see the articles. Once Max had the files open, Anthony’s eyes widened and they slowly slipped into each other’s spots. 

Max now stood over his shoulder as he sat in the chair scrolling through each article and staring over the bodies with curiosity.

“Jesus Christ,” the Italian breathed out. “He’s a maniac…” Though he said that, a small smile appeared on his face- not out of amusement but because the guy had guts and his work was…well, it was as clean as he could make it for not having been found.

 

A red alert came on screen and Anthony moved as Max leaned down to quickly read and click over it. 

“Oh my God,” the Mexican whispered. 

“What is it?”

“He has a new victim.”

“Let me see?”

 

Anthony went to read over the beginning of the article. It had just been published but from the details, it seems the body had been found earlier that morning. He started reading over the details of the victim, fingers hovering over the keyboard and the mouse as anxiety grew over him.

 

“Tall, almost 6 foot, short cut brown hair with a messy appearance, white male…” He shuddered in his seat and tapped nervously on the table. “Dude, I need to like…I can’t leave the house.”

“What are you talking about?” Max asked, curious.

“Does…does that not almost accurately describe me?”

“I mean, I guess…but that has to be a coincidence.”

“I need you to be right about that, man. I guess it is a coincidence, I don’t know. We’re in America for crying out loud, the population of people that could fit that description is, like, immense.”

 

They both fell quiet, trying to laugh it off. The real problem that scared them was the fact it was in the very city they were sitting in at the moment. It was too close to home, something you’d never really expect to happen.

 

“You wanna keep doing research over there while I start on getting my stuff edited on my laptop?” Max asked, already heading out to his couch.

“Uh, yeah…I’m just gonna keep reading for a bit.”

“Have fun.” 

 

Anthony sat, staring at the computer as he proceeded to continue reading each article, gathering every detail, studying every picture with interest. “I wonder….”

 

Hours later, he decided he wanted to explore the city a little. Not just to see if he could spot the traces of previous victims but also because he grew bored of staying hold up inside.

 

“Max, I’m going out!” Anthony called.

“Yeah, that’s fine man! Just head out when you need to but keep tabs with me!”

“Sure!”

 

The Italian grabbed his jacket and left the house, wallet in his back pocket, phone in the front, and he quickly set off on a seaside adventure to downtown San Francisco.

 

\---

 

_That was too easy of a game. It wasn’t that hard to lure that man in. Now bored, you decide to go home and rest, wash off your toys and look at the photo in your phone. He was beautiful: the way his hair stuck out, the blood on his face showing years of your ancestry- correct ancestry, not the stupid horns, though those were fun to draw behind them anyway- and the pale of his skin and dusty brown eyes._

_But he wasn’t beautiful enough. You needed more, you needed perfection._

_You needed him._

_Suddenly irritated and growing antsy, you decide to go find some dinner to keep yourself occupied._

_You hurry out in a gray sweater, curly brown hair bouncing as you run out of your house and walk down to see what you can eat._

_That’s when you realize you forgot your wallet, but oh well, then. Maybe you could find some place to order to home._

_Ah, wait-_

_You look around and see_ him _standing there. Maybe…no, not yet. No, you want to learn about him first. You want to study him._

_He’s your specimen, your target now, and no one else’s._

_You’ve studied him for about two days, and you think you have quite a bit of knowledge to go off of, but now it’s time to get closer._

_You tap his shoulder and smile as he turns around, though you shy away when you see the bright, childish look on his face as he confusedly greets you with an awkward “hello” and all you can do is murmur a “hello” back._

_Fuck, your Royal Majesty, get yourself together._

 

\---

 

“Uh…hi?” Anthony repeats, staring at the younger looking man, raising his eyebrows. “Did you uh, need something?”

“Oh! Ah…” He curled his fingers to his chest and his green eyes darted around before looking back. “I just noticed the, um, the uh…that Mario hat on your head.”

“Huh? Oh, shoot, I forgot I was even wearing it.” The Italian chuckled and shrugged. _He did have really nice green eyes. They were great to stare into._

“And uh, um, well, I usually don’t see a lot of, er, gamers…in this store. I mean I come here often. I mean the point was that I don’t see a lot of gamers in general. I mean, uh-“

“Yeah, I got it,” Anthony interrupted his stutters, smiling. He held his hand out and watched as long, slender fingers met his with hesitance, shaking gently. “The name’s Anthony.”

“Yes, Anthony Chaos. I’m Steven…uh…”

“Steven Uh? Nice to meet you.” Anthony smiled, though he did narrow his eyes a little at the mention of his last name, not that he mentioned it.

 

The stranger, now named Steven, chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not a big converser…but anyway, I meant to say that I usually eat here but I forgot my wallet. So I guess I’ll just um, head back home…”

“Oh! Oh, no, dude, it’s fine. I can pay for you.”

“Really? That’d be great.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind. Just order what you want and then um, we can go sit down together or something.”

“That sounds nice, sure.” Steven nodded, looking down at the floor. “Thank you, Anthony.”

“Sure.” The Italian shrugged, but kept a close eye on him. There was something weird about this guy that set him off, but maybe it was because he was a stranger. He seemed nice enough, and it would be cool to have someone else to talk to about his interests outside of his confinement in Max’s house. 

 

Maybe Anthony could talk a while with this Steven guy. It didn’t seem too bad and maybe he could make a new friend.

 

\---

 

_You can’t believe it! He’s actually talking to you and…and he shook your hand. That was really fast._

_You in fact can’t wait to get your food and sit together so you can learn more about him, maybe get a little closer. So close that your kill would be the best game you’d ever play in the history of all your games._

_Better than the one four years ago._

_You’d love it so much._

_You stare into the Italian’s brown eyes and already, you can feel yourself wanting to just drag him out to the back and carve right into his skin._

_But right now, you’re also very intrigued by his friendly personality and something about him makes you want to wait._

_Something that you’re not quite sure of if you like or not, but you’re going along with it._

_Ah, the food’s arrived. Time to make friends._


	3. RaakxhyrShapeshifter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Previous Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Sk-Ze-Ch-2-612230434)   
>  [First Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Serial-Killer-Ze-Chapter-One-606692817?q=gallery%3ARaakxhyrShapeshifter%2F58026126&qo=4)   
>  [Next Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-SK-Ze-Ch-4-623689219?ga_submit_new=10%253A1469385185)   
>  [On Tumblr](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://raakxhyr.tumblr.com/post/146316805027/blood-in-love-skze-ch-3)

_“So, Steven,” Anthony starts, and you can’t help but get giddy with the way he says your name. It makes your fingers itch for the blade always kept in your pockets._

_“Yes, Anthony?” you reply back, trying to keep your smile subtle, fingers drumming on the table as you both wait for the order._

_“Um,” he starts, seeming hesitant about his choice of topic and pressing on to another. How intriguing. “So you live around here or something?”_

_“Yes, just down a ways from here, why?” You can see the way he’s looking at you and then looking away, his brown eyes drawing you in, the muss of hair even more so. He had a bit of a crooked smile._

_“Um, I just came for a weekend visit.”_

_“Just a weekend? You’re in San Francisco; have some fun!” You’re just begging him to stay longer, now. Pleading, in fact, Pleading with those bright green eyes of yours._

_“I-I mean I would, but-“_

_The conversation is stopped short when the order number is called. You sigh a little and sit back in your chair, still calm and collective, watching every detail in his motion when he stands and walks to get the food. You can see all his muscles working- oh god, all those muscles._

_He’s a large prey, but he’s your prey. And boy you can’t wait to carve right into that ass-_

_THAT MEAT._

_The meat…_

_You sigh, knowing exactly what you were staring at, and still are, until he turns around, and you smile, folding your hands together when he returns to sit and finally make up his mind about what he wanted to talk about._

_“Alright, look, have you heard of The Royal Viking?”_

_“Yes, I have,” you answer with delight, almost aroused with the mention of your title. “He’s the biggest talk of the town.”_

_“So it is a guy! Well, look, you seem to know about him, is it okay if we talk about that?”_

_“It would be my_ pleasure _,” you reply almost immediately, trying to hide the grin on your face and the jumpiness of your character._

_\---_

 

Anthony sat down and opened the hot box of pizza, licking his lips as he picked up a slice and watched as Steven took a plain cheese. 

“Alright, so this killer guy. Apparently notorious and shit. Did you see his most recent murder this morning?”

“Yeah, I keep tabs on him 24/7 Anthony. I love the guy.”

“Yeah, amazing right? I mean the killing is kind of, you know, brutal, but like, amazing! Anyway, I dunno, I wanted to learn more about him and then I also got spooked because the guy that just died was almost like me.”

“That is weird, isn’t it? Gets spooky, you get paranoid and stuff.” Steven shrugged and Anthony nodded, taking another bite of his pizza and waving his other hand. 

“See? Exactly! You get it! But man, this killer really has his work cut out for him. What do you think is his motive?”

“No idea. It could be anything. Usually some obsession, right?”

“Yeah…and the style is always the same, the whole Viking aspect.” He took a few more bites of his pizza before continuing. “So, how many has he killed?”

“Approximately 30 so far. Crazy, right?”

“Oh god, 30 victims? Man, this guy is real busy.” Anthony shuddered and shook his head. “I wonder what he uses. It doesn’t seem like he’s shot any of them, just…ties them up and hacks away.”

“Yeah, he enjoys it. I mean he seems to enjoy it,” Steven answered, and Anthony stared at the man sitting in front of him with curiosity. 

“Say, how much do you know about this guy?”

“I know enough.”

“So, how come you haven’t told the police? I mean they’d be able to catch him if you told them everything, right?”

“I don’t think they’d be able to catch him. They practically know what I know, and they still haven’t done anything progressive except count the bodies.”

 

Anthony chuckled lightly at this. “Man, you sound like you love the police.”

“Oh, yeah, no, totally, they’re the best,” Steven answered, rolling his eyes as he finished another slice of pizza.

“Well, hey, I’d love to talk about him more but I also wanna get to know about you…but it’s also kind of getting late and this was like midnight snack pizza. Also, flying in from the east coast, I feel dead tired. You just wanna…you know, get each other’s numbers or something?”

“Sure. You got a pen and paper?”

“I have my phone, if that’s okay. Just put in all your information?”

“Yep.” 

 

Anthony grinned, glad he made a new friend to talk about his interests with as he unlocked and handed him his phone. “Say, wait, you said you play video games, right?”

“I think I did,” Steven replied, laughing softly. “Why?”

“We should totally play some games together, then! Like, if you’re not busy.”

“Yeah, uh, I’ll just text you, is that okay?”

“Hell yeah!” 

 

Anthony grinned as he got his phone handed back to him and he immediately sent Steven a text so he could have his number. “Alright, well, Mr…” Anthony looked at the name. “Mr. Steven _Viking_?” 

“Yeah…yeah, this is kind of why I don’t talk to a lot of people.”

“That’s why you were so awkward to say hi to me? Dude, you aren’t like…” Anthony almost paled, paranoia kicking in when he tried to connect the two names.

“No, no, no, I’m no killer, I swear. I just happened to be unlucky. Besides, does it look like I could actually kill someone?”

 

Anthony looked him over. He was right, he didn’t really look like he would harm someone, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. Instead, the Italian sighed and nodded, looking down at the empty pizza box and standing to throw it away.

 

“Alright, well…uh, I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see ya! It was great meeting you, Anthony!”

“Same to you! Text me!”

“Will do,” Steven replied, chuckling and smiling when Anthony winked at him jokingly. 

 

With that, Anthony departed and headed on his way back to Max’s place, thinking about his new friend, and wondering when they’d talk again. Hopefully not this late, though. He really was exhausted; he might as well have just fallen on the sidewalk and slept. 

 

For now it was bed time and planning to maybe meet a couple more friends the following day.

 

\---

 

_God, you have his number now! And kind of an idiot, allowing you to look through his phone to “put in your number.” Well, you did put in your number, but you also looked through everything else._

_You got a few numbers memorized in your head belonging to a few of his friends: Max, Shawn, Nick._

_You also quickly sent yourself some pictures of the Italian and then deleted the messages before handing the phone back, a large grin on your face._

_God, what a night. And he paid for dinner, too. How sweet._

_But, it isn’t that late for you yet. It was time for a fresh victim. The one from the morning was just not satisfactory enough for you, and you hungered for more after that run-in occurrence with Anthony._

_Oh, Anthony, how sweet his name ran on your tongue. And how sweet he said yours._

_But not the time to get too hasty. He knows your last name now and he seems suspicious. Best to keep yourself clean around him. Well, as clean as possible._

_Right now, you need to go and feast on another poor soul. And make it good. You really want to show the definition of your Viking heritage and a sudden chill runs up your spine as you waltz into the night._

 


	4. RaakxhyrShapeshifter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Previous Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Sk-Ze-Ch-3-617006010?q=gallery%3ARaakxhyrShapeshifter%2F58026126&qo=3)   
>  [The First Chapter](http://raakxhyrshapeshifter.deviantart.com/art/Blood-in-Love-Serial-Killer-Ze-Chapter-One-606692817?q=gallery%3ARaakxhyrShapeshifter%2F58026126&qo=4)   
>  [On Tumblr](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://raakxhyr.tumblr.com/post/147904083752/blood-in-love-skze-ch-4)

“Ah, Steven!” Anthony greeted from down the sidewalk. He smiled at his new friend as he ran down to meet him in the crowd, the slope of the hill they were on a bit steep, and he was surprised cars could even drive around here.

“Hi Anthony,” the shorter greeted with a bright grin, dressed comfortably in a gray t-shirt and beige shorts, red converse at his feet. It was not as hot as Anthony expected it to be, and as it turned out, today would probably be the only lucky “cool” day of the week, the rest of the weather forecasts following showing a gradual heat increase trend. It was also a few days after they’d met up.

They’d been texting each other the few previous days and finally got a chance to meet up again. This time, Anthony was going to get a personal tour and maybe even the chance to see his living space and job field. But first, a coffee stop.

 

“Woah, woah,” the Italian started, looking at the immense line gathered along the sidewalk just to get into the _first_ Starbucks- the _original_ Starbucks- location to buy a coffee. “You mean we have to stand in _that?”_

A sweet laugh left the other and Anthony couldn’t help but smile. “Well, yeah, I mean, it _is_ the first location here. Come on, it’ll only take half an hour. We could chat up a little more and waste time then.”

“Alright, fine. But you’re paying.”

“I will, I will, now come on, before someone steals our spot.”

 

The two got in line shortly, still almost a whole block down from the store. Anthony sighed when his phone buzzed and he looked at Steven apologetically. “Hold on, I got a notification for something.”

“No biggie. What is it?”

“Um…” Anthony held his phone up and checked the article headline he received. “Huh, it looks like that Royal Viking guy killed someone a few nights ago…and it’s a totally random victim, too!”

“Huh?” Steven looked over at Anthony’s phone and he nodded, lips pursed a little as he seemed to acknowledge the death. “Interesting. Any comments about a change in MO?”

“MO?”

“Oh, uh, MO stands for modus operandi, also known as ‘method of operation’.” Steven chuckled.

“Huh, uh, yeah...Jesus…she was still hacked to death but they said she was…blindfolded, gagged, and carved into.” Anthony gave a repulsed expression that quickly melted into curiosity. “If you take a look at the picture, there’s words behind her that say ‘you never cared’.” Steven again looked over at the picture to examine the scene, looking back at Anthony with a shrug.

“Maybe some sort of memory?”

“Or was this woman actually related in some way?”

“No idea. It could be a possibility, I guess.”

 

Anthony looked up from his phone when a seagull flew close, and when he looked around, a large grin gathered on his face. “Hey, we’re halfway there, now!”

“I told you,” Steven said with a chuckle. “We’d be there just from talking.”

“That’s true. Say, I’m gonna keep reading more on the guy just so I can catch up with what you know.”

“Sure.”

 

\---

 

Phew, _you sigh. Anthony didn’t notice that you actually smiled at the scene, all the memories still fading back to you. Of course you knew what had happened, but at least now you can confirm that, yes, you can even fake your emotion around your next target._

_Well, you already knew that, but Anthony seemed to be smarter than the others._

_You glance over at your companion and look over at his phone screen, memories of each kill popping into your head. But that most recent one, by god were you merciless._

_You could still remember it from the very beginning. She was easy to lead on, easy to talk too, in fact too easy to do anything with._

_You walked in to the bar, ordered a shot, and spotted her slumping into the store. She seemed out of place, lost, and you got her a drink. She thanked you and took the seat beside you and by the time she opened her mouth, you already knew everything about her._

_A divorced mother, all her children in the father’s custody, she was distraught and regretful but claimed it wasn’t her fault. She put the blame on the woman her husband –well, ex-husband – so much as cheated with._

_She starts to break down and you almost feel bad – well, if you could have felt bad. The only thing on your tongue was the spicy taste of alcohol mixing in with the bitterness of your past running down your throat. This was an all too familiar story, of course with a bit of your own twist._

_You shake your head as memories start to flash here and there and you can’t really stop yourself from seeing them, being in them at the moment. You don’t even realize you’ve taken the woman into your car and already started driving home. It was as if you went into auto-pilot, and your body just knew where to go but your mind was already somewhere else._

_She follows you into the house without a second guess, maybe looking for something a little different than what was about to happen. This was not exactly the kind of penetration she was going to be looking for._

_And suddenly, as you bring her downstairs, you’re 9  years old again._

_“Steven?” a woman’s voice called, shakily, and you turn your head up to see your father’s mistress’ face- at least, you thought she was his mistress. She’s blindfolded, tied to the chair, a gash on her lip. “Steven, wait, what are you doing?”_

_Around her are three other people. Your father, your sister, and standing behind you is your mother._

_“Do it, Steven,” your mother tells you, forcing you to walk forward and press the knife to the mistress’ skin. “Right there, yes. You see that large vein of hers? Cut it.”_

_You stutter and look back hesitantly, knowing this was wrong. You’re scared shitless but you’re glued to your spot. Always a mother’s boy…_

_“What are you waiting for? Do it, Steven.”_

_“Steven, don’t,” your father’s stern voice warns, and a shot rings through the thick air. A scream you never thought would have left your father now echoes in your ear and tears start forming in your eyes._

_“Mom, I’m scared,” you whimper, unable to pull through with what she was planning. But she told you over and over it was okay to do this because cheaters were liars and they hurt people and they hurt your family._

_“Don’t be scared, sweetheart. This woman ruined our lives.”_

_“No, Steven, it’s not what you think. I wouldn’t do something like that, you know me! It was an accident! I am_ not _flirting with your father at all!”_

_“She’s a liar, honey! Kill her already!”_

_You shake your head and this cycle repeats several times. This results in you getting slapped, then cared for, then slapped again. That’s when something hits deep into your cheek and you feel first the sting that sends you hissing, then the warm blood that drips down your cheeks. This fuels you to wail and cry and you start to curl up until a gentle hand wipes the injury and patches it up._

_“I am so, so sorry, Steven. I didn’t mean to do that. Please forgive me? I’ll surprise you with some pizza tonight, okay? I’m sorry, baby, don’t cry. Come here.”_

_You’re lifted into your mother’s arms before you’re put down again, this time her hand tight on yours. Your eyes widen and you look up at the lady tied to the chair when it’s too late. You can’t resist your mother’s strength, her grip tight and suffocating on your small hand, forcing you to cut right into the flesh as a sudden gush of blood comes out. And again, and again, and again, your mother forces you to carve into her skin and soon she’s a messy pile of blood and flesh on the floor._

_Your lips are parted in a silent scream, but your mother continues, this time on your father. Instead of a knife, she makes you wield an axe. And if it didn’t get any messier from there, the last kill would be clean. A simple bullet into your sister’s head and it’s over._

_You only hear the proud tone of your mother, the cackles that escape her, and suddenly another shot fires and she’s on the ground. When you look up, no one’s there, but when you take a second look at your mother’s body, you determine it was a suicidal shot._

_That’s when footsteps came running down and several cops show up. And you start to break down again, running to one of them for comfort. A shot barely grazes your ear and you look up in complete horror at the officer who had their gun aimed at you. They look back in their own fright only to realize you were just a child and they walk towards you to apologize._

_You shake your head and back up to the farthest wall, screams now piercing the air, until you faint._

_Of course, this took a different path now with the woman you were staring at. The very woman who followed you home is easily as dead as the ones in your memory. You don’t feel any form of remorse, your stomach does not churn, and you feel quite calm in this scene. It’s a bit messy, except for the shot to the head, and your basement could use a good cleaning, now._

_You pick up her body, bring her upstairs, and are glad to see it’s the dead of the night with no one around, a rare few people driving by who don’t even notice you, more focused on getting to their destination._

_You choose a location to drop her off, easy to run into, hard to actually find unless by accident. She’s a masterpiece at this point, and you remember from every museum you’ve visited never to touch the masterpieces. So, you leave her body after you’ve completed the final touches and details, pushing back a few strands of her curly, brown hair and stand back._

_“I’ve always loved you, Mother,” you whisper, not to the woman, but to who she represented. “This was for you…”_

_“Steven,” you hear someone say, and you look up, blinking rapidly. “Steeeeveeeen?” a male’s voice calls to you in a sing-songy tone and you snap back to reality, the Italian’s face now in your sight. “Hey, buddy?”_

_“Uhh…yeah?”_

_“We’re up in line next to order.”_

_“Oh, yeah, right. Um…”_

 

\---

 

_That was weird,_ Anthony thought to himself as he watched Steven throughout the duration of their walk down the line since he had finished all the articles on the killer. His face had changed from happy to calm to distraught and back to happy again in the few minutes they had stood in line together. 

He wondered what could have set him to doing that, but decided to ask when they were alone. He turned instead to the baristas and they placed their orders, picking them up as soon as they were ready, and started off to the nearby stores. 

 

It was almost like walking through Mexico or China or wherever they had the open stand stores crowding you from left to right and every which way you looked. And for Anthony, it was getting a bit _too_ crowded. “Hey, Steven, buddy?” 

“Yeah?”

“What are we doing here?”

“Just follow me, I know a nice place to reach that’s quiet.”

“Quiet? In this chaos?”

“Oh shut up and follow me,” Steven replied with a grin and a chuckle, and Anthony couldn’t resist the smile that crept on his face as he continued on. 

 

The crowd started to gather a little more and the stores only seemed to press tighter together, he suddenly reached forward to grab Steven’s wrist and almost ran into him when the shorter stopped.

“Agh! Steven, what the hell?”

“Sorry, you scared me with the wrist grab. Scared of losing me?” he teased.

“Well, yeah, you’re short and lost in a crowd.”

“Hey, I’m not short. I’m average.” A quiet sigh left Steven as he quickly made the decision to continue, but changed their positioning. Now, they held hands instead, and seemed to get through the crowd a lot quicker without ever losing sight of each other.

Anthony looked down in wonder at how soft Steven’s hand was, subconsciously intertwining their fingers, his heart racing and beating loud in his ear. It was odd to hold someone’s hand like this, especially someone new. But it felt all the more right when Steven held it, though that was a bit odd, even for Anthony.

 

“Alright, here we are,” Steven sighed out as they finally exited the crowd and stood alone on a mini boardwalk that sat behind all the shops and on the edge of the cliffside, overlooking the calm side of the beach and the ocean.

“Wow,” Anthony breathed out, taken away by the scene. The waves were coming onto shore with a roar, the white mist spraying onto rocks as it split the crash. Seagulls flew around, many boats docked further along. The sound of cars and people could still be heard, but it was quiet compared to the washing up of water on sand. Only a few people lined this side of the coast, in the distance there were cargo ships and some daring swimmers. The sun shone high above, but a cool sea breeze blew on by.

The Italian’s ears perked when he heard the sipping of an empty drink, turning his head to see Steven with his Frappuccino already gone, leaving the straw jus at the tip of his lips. Anthony himself hadn’t even realized he was already finished with his own drink. Not to mention they were still holding hands, but he supposed Steven didn’t care and Anthony didn’t mind.

So they stood together, leaning against the wooden railway, listening to the calming sounds of the ocean roar, their hair blowing gently in the breeze.

 

Anthony couldn’t help but let his eyes travel over the entirety of the scene over and over, each time finishing on Steven, taking in his bouncy brown curls of hair, the peaceful expression over his face, his nose a funny red, posture relaxed close to him. The Canadian’s hand sat comfortably still in his own, Anthony watching as Steven gently nibbled on the straw of his drink.

Then Steven glanced over at him, caught him staring, and smiled. Anthony could feel his cheeks warm and he chuckled, heart jumping to an accelerated speed then, and he turned his gaze away, only to return to the bright green eyes that shone bright curiosity towards him.

 

“So uh, what drink did ya get?” Anthony decided to ask, untangling their fingers so he could take Steven’s empty cup and throw it in a nearby trash can. 

“Um, it was the smores one.”

“They have a smores flavored coffee?”

“Yep! My sister…uh…sister’s friend told me about it and gave it to me early.”

“What? That’s no fair. Your sister works at Starbucks?”

“Uh, um, she used to…” 

 

Anthony noticed a frown come onto Steven’s face and he knew something was wrong. Steven caught Anthony’s worried expression and he sighed. “My sister um, passed…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about that…I didn’t know…”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Steven shrugged and sighed, looking back over the coast, leaning on both his forearms as he stared over the ocean sadly.

Anthony frowned and rubbed his arm, wanting to change topic then. “So uh, where do you work?”

“Work?” Steven looked up at Anthony and paused for a moment. “I work part time on video games and the main part of it in a horror film industry.”

“Oh! That’s cool! So with your serial killer knowledge of that Royal Viking dude, you must be a real hit over there!”

“Aha, yeah, I guess you could say that. I work with this guy called Adam. I dunno, you might know him as-“

“You mean SeaNanners? Seriously?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“What? Adam never told me he had a friend living up here like you. He never mentioned you before.”

“You know him?”

“Hell yeah I do! Ah, that’s cool. You should show me around the place. It would be cool to see some fake body props and horror scenes and stuff.”

“Yeah, that’ll be added to part of our tour today, then.” Steven grinned and Anthony only grinned back.

“Awesome! So, where’s our next stop?”

“Uh, I was hoping to bring you to the Ghirardelli shop up the hill if that’s okay with you.”

“Oh, yes, I could go for some chocolate! Although, I’ve had to watch my diet for a while…and we just had coffee…ah, forget, some chocolate won’t hurt.” Anthony smiled and suddenly held his hand again, Steven’s eyes widening at the action. The Italian stuttered then and released his hand, rubbing his neck, only to have it held again.

“Come on, let’s get through that crowd one more time.”

“Huh? Oh… oh yeah, that crowd.” Anthony nodded, smiling and following the Canadian off back through the shops. Maybe he could get used to staying here a little longer.


End file.
